Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1887-07-13
OLD AND QUEER.
Interesting Antiquities Picked Up
Near Pasadena, Cal.

While walking my horse up a h II
near Pasadena, writes correspondent
from California, the animal slipped OH
a curiously-shaped stone protruding
/ from the ground and presenting a
4 smooth. rounded surface. saw at i
: glance that water could not have worn
| n into such regular shape. / unearth-
ed il. 1t proved to be a stone dish
weighing fifteen or twenty pounds In
shane il reSembled the wooden recepta-
cles for mince meat in vogue in New
England when | was lad. But this
. strange utensil was not used IN the
manufacture of mince pie. l lifted IL
upon the saddle, and carried 1t up TO
I the ranch The moment the owner
saw il he said: 'Why, I've found 4
cart-load Of those things here You
see, - he continued, according TO my
way Of thinking, my ranch Is the site or
an old camping ground of people, gone
no one knows where, and don't think
they went by degrees, either. Some
thing must have occurred to have stop
ped them all at once, as they would hard
ly leave things here that We're evidently
81 tedious To- make How old are they!
Well, its difficult to say, but many OF
them are found two or three feet be-
low the surface not buried by man but
covered by nature, and You can Judge
how long that would take rs well as L
can. Again. many of them have de-
cayed since they were made, which
looks, Is though 400 or 500 years might
have gone by since they were aband-
oned."
According TO my IDEAS" continued
Mr.. GiIdingS, ''theSe stones were prinl-
itive mills belonging to an ancient peo-
pie. Now, to give you an idea why
think this WAS an old camp, and also 10
show YOU how much of this stuff there
Is here, | Will get out my plow and go
over small bit while you follow and
see what you can find"
This suggestion was acted upon, and
soon the plow WAS turning up the dark
loan, into which my horse sank ankle
deep. l had not gone fifty feet before
| saw 4 stone that was not rs nature
had left it. 1t was about eight inches
long. and a dip in the spring close by
showed IL To be polished or ground off
on both sides perfectly Hat, SO that it
fitted well into the hand.
That's = grinder" said Mr. Gid
dings.
1.-The acOrnS, or nuts, or grain, what
ever II was, was put III the big dishes
and ground with these into meal or
flour. Here's another" he SAID, pick
ing one out of the loan, you see it
is similar in shape, but is disintegrated
10y time and ready TO fall TO pieces"
Y few feet farther on another object
appeared, and generally where there
Was one Il little digging showed quite a
this last find was ball, and
if used as peStle must have been con-
.inually changed about by the hand,
but il was probably used in some game,
)r perhaps was a toy. Following the
blow again large mortar was thrown
-, having a hole in the bottom that
Iad been literally worn through by con-
inuOus grinding. In the course of the |
afternoon quite a number of pestles and |
nortaTs and broken parts of the same |
we're uneaTthed, and later found many |
more pieces in the bush where they had |
Gen washed out by the rain. y large |
lumber of dishes, rs they We're CON-
nOnly called, were Worn out, thus show
NJ that the locality was a permanent |
e>idence, and that the old wornOut |
iSheS had leen cast aside from time TO
Ime. Some of the stones that | col
ected and arranged i'll the brook had
cen finely shaped, showing that the
makers had some idea of form.
Tie vicinity of Pasadena seems to
ave been a favOrite camping grounds
or many of these ancient people the
pot oyerlOOks a grand vista-a deep
anon or aTrOyO-the tops of the trees
cling far beneath the charming spot for
camp. Hardly a ranch or house OF
ny old settler in the valley but can
cast relics OF the kind | have describ-
Il, that have for years been scattered
ither and you, but should he collected
4 local historical museum and pre-
eryed. John Giddings the owner Of
he Indian camp, tells me that in yari-
Us parts of Ventura country lie has
Jund specimens like these and in one
Jcality 4 Lady has in her pos -eSSion
ONE stone clubs which, | think, are
nlque- He describes them rs being
rom three and one-half To four and
ne-half feet in length like base ball
ats IN their general shape, and evident
J weapons of warfare though certain
: no ordinary man could lift such a
ieapOn to use II in battle. If such an
Implement from this country Is in any
elections III the United States, it has
scaped my notice